May 2017

UPDATE 28/5/2017: There was a mistake in the second planner and I have edited it. Please redownload it.

UPDATE 13/6/2017: I have added an eight-week version 🙂

My DELTA Module Two is starting this July, 2017. I know I should be very organized and manage my time properly since the course is highly intensive. That’s why I’ve created these 2 planners which are for full-time DELTA Module Two courses. The calendars is a ready-to-print, A3 sized.

You can print them on A4-sized paper too, but it would look a bit small. Stick it on your wall, and tick as you go!

DELTA Module Two Planner

DELTA Module Two Planner

The abbreviations (They are used during the Module 2 course, so you need to learn them):

Delta Module Two Planner 1

Delta Module 2 Planner 2

Delta Module 2 Planner 8 Weeks

Hope you like, and find them useful. I will write more posts about DELTA Module 2 once I finish the course this August. So, stay tuned to my blog 🙂
Good luck with your DELTA Module 2, and feel free to comment on and share this post 🙂

I prepare my students for Cambridge Exams (Flyers, KET, and PET). And since the examination date is just around the corner, I thought I should revise the vocabulary list. Also, my learners asked me for an activity or a game to revise the Flyers word list. So, I came up with the following game, and it went well!

You are going to need the Thematic Vocabulary List for Flyers. You can download the list from here (PDF file. Size 1.66 MB, taken form the Cambridge YLE Handbook.)

I grouped the learners into groups of 4s and 3s and asked each group to get 1 sheet of paper, and a pen/pencil for each student.

The instructions were that I’m going write a category on the board taken from the vocabulary list, and they will have 1 minute to write as much words as they know on their sheet, and when the time is up, they should stop. You can use the clock on the wall as a timer, or if you have a stopwatch on your phone. I used Google Stopwatch, and projected it on the board so the learners can know how much left. You can find it here. (press the CTRL key while clicking on the link to open it in a new tab.) When the time was up, I asked each group to pass their sheet to the group next to them, and showed the aforementioned vocabulary list on the board. The learners checked the sheets against the vocabulary list. Giving 1 point for any word that is on the list, 2 points for any correct word that is not on the list, and crossing any word that doesn’t belong to the category or that is false in a way or another. And wrote their points under their team’s name on the board. If you don’t like having a competition in your classroom, you can skip writing the points on the board. However, my learners enjoyed that a lot!

After getting back their own sheets, I asked the learners to write on their notebooks any word that is on the list but they didn’t write, so they would learn and study this word later.

And that’s all about it. I’m gonna try out this activity with my KET and PET students and see how it goes!

What do you think about the activity? Any comments or alterations?

You can access the page behind this post here, and if you like you can read the post too 🙂

There are many forms of continuing professional development, one that I just love is webinars. They’re held regularly, and tackle different issues in ELT. I always learn new things from webinars, that’s why I keep attending them. So far, I’ve attended more than 30 certified webinars, and half as much of recorded webinars.

Before going any further, I’d like to say that this is why I’ve decided to create The ELT Webinars Calendar. I’ll add the webinars that I know so you can check them and attend those who interest you. You can also find a form beneath the calendar which you can use to add an event or a webinar which is not already on the list. And beneath the form you can find links for recorded webinars in case you wanna watch some.

So, back to the track, here’s my list of reasons why you should attend webinars:
-You can access them on your desktop, laptop, tablet, and cellphone.
-They don’t take a lot of your schedule. Usually they are 40-80 minutes.
-You can gain certificates to prove your CPD (continuing professional development) to your (potential) employer.
-In case you miss one, you can watch the recording when it’s convenient for you.
-They keep you up-to-date with what’s new in the ELT world.
-You learn about an area that is new to you OR you deepen your knowledge in an are that you already know.

Jack Richards give these reasons for attending a workshop (workshops and webinars are practically the same thing) in his book Professional Development for Language Teachers, on page 25:
Attending workshops can provide input from experts.
Workshops offer teachers practical classroom applications.
Attending workshops can raise teachers’ motivation.
Workshops develop collegiality.
Participating in workshops can support innovations.
Workshops are short-term.
Workshops are flexible in organization.

I can’t stress the importance of attending webinars enough. If you are new to them, try them a couple of times, and you’ll become addictive.

Over to you: what is your take on webinars?

Update: read this post to know the benefits of CELTA and take the quiz!

Ever since I’ve finished my CELTA in December 2014, I’ve been contacted by countless people from all over the world (I hope you are reading this post) who want to take CELTA. And always, I was happy to help my fellow colleagues.

That’s why I’ve decided to create this infographic hoping it would be helpful for teachers who don’t know what CELTA is. or what it does offer. And to function as Cambridge CELTA introduction. Of course, this is not what all is CELTA about. To know ALL about CELTA you gotta read the CELTA Course Trainee Book, or take the course yourself 😉

click on the image for a larger version and share if you care

Cambridge CELTA Introduction. An infographic about Cambridge CELTA.

did you find this infographic helpful? Was it a good Cambridge CELTA Introduction?
do you have any question or comment about CELTA? then ask or comment in the comment box.